Blighted Schola
“They took the brightest and the best and twisted them into the seeds of some nightmare future. Were it not for their other crimes, I would say that this act alone was enough to earn them Excommunication and death.” –Inquisitor Glavius Wroth at the Denouncement of the Golgenna Coven, 812.M41 The Blighted Schola were created by the power of Radical Inquisitors called the Golgenna Coven. In a heretical aping of the traditions of the Schola Progenium, the Blighted Schola took carefully selected orphans of loyal servants of the Imperium and schooled them to create individuals of iron will, profane knowledge, and terrible potential. Using psychic, surgical, and noetic methods, the ‘progena’ of these secret institutions were generations of highly capable men and women reared to excel in the service of a Radical master: highly resourceful, possessed of forbidden knowledge, and capable of murdering without hesitation or qualm. Were it not for the nature of their curriculum and the methods they used to create their cursed progena, the achievements of these Blighted Schola might be applauded. Concealed in the very heart of the sector, on the worlds of Scintilla, Sepheris Secundus, and Valon Urr, the Blighted Schola were set up as secret institutions concealed by elaborate cover stories and manipulation of administrative records. Following the pattern of their more legitimate equivalents, these facilities were fed a steady stream of orphans of loyal Imperial servants. These pupils were carefully selected by agents of the Golgenna Coven within the true Schola Progenium. Once selected, a pupil would be separated from the normal flow of orphans to Schola Progenium facilities and records altered to indicate their death from illness, or substituted for another’s so that their disappearance would not be discovered. So effective were the methods employed by the Golgenna Coven that their twisted and Blighted Schola functioned without discovery for over a century. The Blighted Schola of Calixis Sector are a shameful secret known only to members of the Calixian Conclave and a few senior members of the Adeptus. The conspiracy which created and maintained the Blight Schola was discovered by chance when an agent of the Golgenna Coven within the Administratum was investigated for suspected involvement in a heretical cult (a charge he was in fact innocent of). The Blighted Schola were purged, the radical creators denounced and their former pupils hunted down and executed by teams of Acolytes loyal to Puritan Inquisitors. The tragedy, in the eyes of those who know of the works of the Golgenna Coven, is that it succeeded and did so for many decades. Though many false progena produced by the Blighted Schola were tracked down in the wake of the Excommunication of the Golgenna Coven, the identities of some were never recovered. Many may have fled or gone to ground, but it is feared by some within the Calixian Conclave that some pupils of the Blighted Schola still serve within the ranks of the Inquisition itself. 'The Excommunication of the Golgenna Coven' The Golgenna Coven were a group of Inquisitors and powerful members of other Imperial bodies who, as one of several other abominable projects, subverted the sacred work of the Schola Progenium within the Calixis sector to create the Blighted Schola. It is known that at least four Inquisitors (Simion, Nihul, Estarz and Alhain) were members of the Golgenna Coven. They also counted amongst their members Olius Lupus, Prefect Maximus of Scintilla, and Gornian Sans, at that time Admiral of Battlefleet Calixis. Evidence gathered by other members of the Holy Ordos indicate that the Coven where rearing a generation suited not for service to the Emperor but to serve their own radical ideals. The Golgenna Coven was also engaged in removing or crippling the power bases of several important individuals within the various wings of the Adeptus. The discovery of the existence of the Coven was made quite by chance when Acolytes in the service of Inquisitor Glavius Wroth broke an agent of the Coven who revealed the existence of the Blighted Schola. Two years later in 812.M41, Wroth denounced Simion, Nihul, Estarz, and Alhain in front of a High Conclave of the Ordos Calixis, citing over twenty-six acts to be considered as evidence. All the accused were excommunicated and immediately executed; Prefect Maximus Lupus and Admiral Sans were subjected to arco-flagellation. The central design of the Coven has never been ascertained, though it was noted by Wroth that all the Inquisitors involved were once close associates, or pupils, of the late Inquisitor Cassilda Cognos. This fact prompted to Wroth to remark that he would have “denounced her as complicit were she not dead.” 'Player Characters' You are a creation of careful nurturing in matters devious and profane. You were taught to cleave to no restriction in method or knowledge in pursuit of your ends, or the ends of your masters. You are a subtle weapon in body, mind and intent and you will do what you were raised to do: follow your will. Creating Blighted Schola Characters Use the Schola Progenium Home World template and replace the Schola Education and Sheltered Upbringing Traits with the ones detailed here. Tutored in the Profane While true progena are tutored in the many skills and areas of knowledge that will make them useful servants of the Imperium, the products of the Blighted Schola were equipped with knowledge of things that should not be known. Effects: The Acolyte gains the Forbidden Lore (Cults, Daemonology, Heresy, Psykers, and Warp) Skills as Basic Skills and begins play with 1d5+5 Corruption Points. Conditioned Mind The Acolyte’s mind has been broken and rebuilt by means psychic, noetic, and surgical to create a fractured but powerful tool. Effect: The Acolyte begins play with +5 Intelligence and the Resistance (Psychic Powers), Strong Minded, and Foresight Talents (ignore the normal prerequisites). He also gains 1d10 Insanity Points.